The Guardian
by upintheweesmallhours
Summary: Godric asks Eric to help protect something precious to him. Story doesn't follow any of events in season 1, 2 or 3 but features some of the characters. Please read and review, thanks. Rated M for future chapters. I don't own True Blood  wish I did though
1. Chapter 1

_**Hope you like the story, if not or there's anything you think I should change or I've missed, please let me know. **_

_**I have another two chapters ready to add on, if anyone enjoys them I have a few more planned.**_

**_The first chapter is a bit short, sorry._**

_**Thanks for reading xo **_

**_21st Aug - sorry i've had to update this chapter as I made a few mistakes regarding the character's name that could have been quite confusing. For those who read this story before, I apologise._**

Chapter One

Isabel stood silently in Eric's office, clutching the letter her Sheriff had entrusted her with. His eyes were wide as he demanded to know why she had been sent.

"Godric wishes me to give this to you and leave you immediately to consider it's contents." She spoke softly as she placed the sealed letter on his desk in front of him, then turned around toward the door, pausing as she opened the door to bow slightly.

Quickly breaking the wax seal, Eric saw his maker's handwriting in his native tongue:

Once you have read the contents herein, burn this letter to ashes.

My Dear Childe,

You and I have been apart for many decades but I know in my heart that the ties that bind us are strong and true, centuries of love and loyalty have cemented our bond; one that I feel goes beyond simply maker and progeny. It is with that sentiment that I have sent my most trusted underling to seek your help.

In the next 24 hrs I shall be sending a female human named Orla Callaghan to Shreveport to seek you out, she shall be accompanied by a Celtic Vampire by the name of Finn O'Lonegan. It is my wish that you place her under your protection. The woman is precious to me for reasons that I am unable to divulge to you in this impersonal method of communication, but I know that once you encounter her you will surmise our connection. There are old and powerful creatures in this world that wish to claim Orla for dark and dangerous purposes, therefore you will need to keep her guarded from these beings, keep her close to you always, even while you rest during sunlight hours, keep her nearby.

The woman will not know of me and you will find her confused and in want of answers, I beg you to only reveal to her that you are her guardian until such time that I can come to her and explain our connection further.

Please know that I look forward to the day that I can be reunited with you and Orla but I have much work to do to ensure her long term safety before that can occur.

In Love and Trust,

Godric

P.S. Should she become mortally wounded, allow no one but yourself to share blood with her - this is imperative.

After reading the letter twice Eric placed the paper in the metal waste bin beside his office table and struck a match, allowing it to fall gently into the receptacle watching as the flames licked around Godric's handwriting until finally only ash remained. Worry flooded his features as he considered what danger Godric may be in if he was trying to protect this - human. His mouth tensed in disgust as he thought of his maker putting himself in such a position for such an unworthy creature as a human. His trust in Godric was unfaltering though and as such we would obey his wishes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Finn o'Lonegan glanced out the window of the blacked out limo as the noise of death metal grew louder. "This must be it, come on, wake up," He gently coaxed the ghostly pale figure who had been sleeping quietly for the past hour of their journey.

She lifted her head slightly and brushed her long black hair from her eyes and strained to look out the windows at the neon lights which spelt out `Fangtasia' in brilliant red.

"Excuse me a moment," He asked as he swept himself from his seat opposite her in one graceful, fluid movement. As she turned her head to acknowledge him, the car down clicked back into place, she thought she would never get used to the inhuman speed of vampires.

Finn straightened his shirt and readied himself for the conversation to come. The North Man was renowned for his short temper and his millennia of experience paled in comparison to his mere 300 years, but Eric's maker seemed convinced that he would be a suitable guardian for the special human and he had to yield to his decision for it was Godric's to make.

He knocked the back door of the nightclub once and instantly the door was opened by a scantly dressed human with fang punctures up and down her neck.

She smiled, trying to look seductive, "My Master's waiting for you in his office," She drawled as she motioned for him to enter. "This way."

She brought him to the office and immediately she was commanded to leave. Looking disappointed and slightly fuming, she turned on her heel and left, slamming the door as she departed.

As soon as Eric was sure that they were alone he stood from his desk and strode over to Finn, his expression highly quizzical. "You have brought a certain parcel for my safe-keeping?" He asked in a quite yet dominant tone.

Finn stepped away from him and found the nearest chair, "We've much to discuss and not enough time, so please..." He motioned for the large Viking to sit opposite him.

Eric froze, annoyed at being told what to do in his own office but slowly did as he was asked, too curious about what the Irishman was to tell him.

As soon as he was seated, Finn began, "Your Maker will've warned you that we were on our way but he's told me that you're not aware of the circumstances of why. Unfortunately, I can only tell you of how I came upon her, as Godric's ordered me not to divulge more -that's his privilege."

Eric's eyebrows arched at his last statement, he immediately knew that there would be a reason for Godric's secrecy. Finn continued, "Her name's Orla Callaghan, this you may know. She was taken by enemies of mine and my Clan, these vampires had been seeking her out most of her life and finally found her when her young son died in a car crash. Her image was shown in a national newspaper when she attended his funeral. They captured her from her home in Belfast two days later. My...Maker...Meadh" he seemed saddened at this, "Meadh came to know of this and we went after them, found Orla half-dead. Meadh chased after their leader bent on revenge but.. she was tortured with silver and eventually killed." He voice turned angry as he looked away from Eric, "We will have revenge, we're embroiled in a war with the renegade clans. This is why we have brought her to you, she is not safe in Ireland and won't be until every one of the vampires who have been tracking her have been caught and staked."

Eric didn't care what war was going on across the Atlantic, "The Irish have been killing each other for centuries, why should Godric care?"

"Godric's got his own role to play in this, but be sure, he's a vested interest in the girl. I cannot reveal any more than that but she is NOT a plaything and she's not to be tasted by _any_ vampire." Finn looked down on his watch, aware that time was against him. "Look, I've to go in a minute, I have to get back to help find them. Orla lost a lot of blood when we found her, so as not to taint her blood we didn't give her vampire blood to heal. We employed a human doctor to help repair her but though she is conscious and speaking she hasn't fully healed. You'll need to see to it that she is seen to by a doctor. Her memory's affected, she can't remember any of her adult life but from what the doctor told me, she should start to remember given time. Thinking about it, it may be better if she never remembers though." Finn stood up and glanced around the room, "You aren't plannin' on keeping her here are you?"

"This is my business, if I must 'babysit' this human, she must stay here while I run the club." retorted Eric.

Finn sat back down, glaring at Eric, and threw a thick wad of $100 bills on the desk. "There's $50,000, perhaps that might persuade you to take some time off?"

Eric snorted "Ha, $50,000 isn't even half of what I'd want."

Standing again, Finn looked at his watch, "Look after her properly and I'll ensure that you're properly compensated, that," he pointed towards the money, " is just for you to be gettin' on with in the meantime. Think of it as 'petty cash'."

Laughing, Eric stood, "Fine, I'll make the necessary arrangements."

"Great stuff, now if you could just come with me, she's in the car ..." Getting slightly agitated about the time, Finn made for the door.

"I will be with you in a minute," Eric said as he placed the cash in the safe.

Pam had responded to Eric's silent command instantly and stood in the hall, arms crossed, as the Irish vamp left. "Please come again" she purred sarcastically as he passed her.

Her master seemed rather pleased with himself so the meeting must have went well. As soon as he'd put on his black leather jacket he drew a set of keys from his pocket, "This 'favour' I'm doing for Godric will mean that I'm required to be absent from the club for a time, you're in charge. I expect to be kept informed of any 'problems' that may arise."

They shared a silent exchange as Pam's eyes searched his manner for a clue as to why he was taking off. He simply nodded his head in a way that no-one but Pam would have understood, but she backed down immediately, safe in the knowledge that he would tell her as soon as he had discovered more.


	3. Chapter 3

_**I found that I had made a few mistakes with Chapter 1 but hopefully they are all resolved now. Thanks for reading x**_

Chapter Three

The raven haired woman shifted slightly in the back of the limo, the vampire with the Dublin lilt had returned to the car and was talking to her, but she wasn't listening. She nodded every once in a while when thought her participation was required but she was far too tired to comprehend what craziness was happening now. Only a week ago she had opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by strangers. Any trace of who she was, what sort of person she was, what her family was like was gone. They told her that she was called Orla and that she had been in a car accident just outside Mayo and they'd found her lying lifeless in the middle of a country road. But she wasn't in a hospital, the room was more like a suite in a stately home. Only one doctor and a nurse seen her during the daytime but at least two men came every evening to sit with her. As soon as she had enough strength to sit up and start talking, she was questioning them. "Why am I here?", "How do you know me?"

Never a straight answer, forever dodging, "You've been in a serious accident, we just want to see that you're O.K", "We're just worried friends".

That is until 2 days ago when Finn had came to her alone. She was to go to America to stay for a while. Everything after that was like walking in trance, hearing the words that he was speaking but not quite absorbing it. The pain medication for her aching body had kicked in and her eyes were heavy as he revealed that he and his friends were relatives of hers, cousins if she liked. She couldn't pull any memories of these people no matter how hard she tried. He had took her hand in his and looked hard into her eyes, appealing for her to not be afraid. So she wasn't afraid, not even when he revealed his true nature to her, he and the others were vampires. Not even when she learned that she was being hunted by their enemy clan. No reaction came, no anger, no hysterics, no disbelief even. Just one salty tear that rolled silently from the corner of her dark eyes, wishing that she could wake up and finally be done with this nightmare. Brushing the tear from her cheek he had promised that she'd be well protected from anyone that tried to harm her. With a brief smile to be polite, she had turned away from him and gathered the blanket tight round herself, soon drifting into a dreamless sleep.

A trusted 'ally' was going to look after her while Finn returned to Ireland, he gave her a mobile phone and explained that he had placed a few thousand dollars into her backpack. "Call me if you need to, Eric Northman is an old and powerful vampire and I know that he will keep you safe from harm, make sure you don't stray far from him. He can be quite abrasive but I am assured that is just his way."

He flashed her a small smile but she was already staring out the window at the sight Eric walking towards them. "Are you ready Orla?" It would have been difficult for anyone to miss the expression of fearfulness that covered her face as she looked back to him. But he chose to ignore it, he was needed back home, his maker dead and five other clan members soon after, he had to join the battle. Orla wasn't his, it wasn't for him to decide where and who she was kept with. Godric's judgement was to be trusted in though. Eric he knew, was Godric's childe and a loyal one for over 1000 years. He couldn't help feel a twinge of sadness for the weary young woman in her mid-twenties who had lost a life she loved and gained an existence in darkness and shadows. But like those who had gone before her, she would adapt.

Finn gently and swiftly lifted her from the limo and set her down in Eric's black sportscar, while the driver put her backpack in the boot. When safely placed in the car Orla smiled as much as she could at Finn, he had been her protector. Never had he spoke harshly to her, in a way he was her only friend and now he was to leave her here. He bend down and tenderly kissed her cheek and in a low voice whispered in Gaelic, "You shall never be alone in this world as long as there are one of our clan are left walking this world. Farewell Orla.". The car door closed and left her in solitude, warm tears rolled from her eyes and her sorrow surprised her.

"Keep her safe Northman, she is very precious to me and my clan." Orla watched from the window as Finn got back into the limo and drove away.

Her new 'keeper' settled into the driver's seat and glanced in the rear view mirror. Her head was laid on the seat as though she were sleeping so he left her to the silence for the rest of the journey.

"Miss Callaghan, we have arrived." said Eric as he pulled the car into the driveway in front of his home.

She opened her eyed and quietly said, "Thank you."

He silently lifted her from the car and carried her through his house, settling her on the edge of a large wooden bed in the middle of a sparsely furnished room. A dark wood table with intricately carved legs stood against the wall to the left of the bed with a stool tucked underneath and a chest of drawers sat beside the entrance to the room.

"Thank you very much... Mr Northman." She whispered, feeling embarrassed at being so close to a stranger, she supposed that she should be used to it by now with all the strangers that she had been surrounded by in Ireland.

"You may call me Eric, if you wish."

She looked up at him, "OK Eric, my name's Orla." She smiled, thankful that things weren't to be so formal.

Eric lifted the chair from the side of the room and placed it in front of were she was sitting. Taking a seat, he leant towards her looking hard into her eyes and spoke in a low, deep voice, "Orla, do you trust Finn?"

Sweat beads started to form on her forehead and suddenly she wasn't sure that this vampire was quite as friendly as the ones she had met. His face was only inches from her own.

"I, um...yes. Yeah, I do."

He shook his head, his brow furrowed, then he realised. Of course he couldn't glamour her, she wasn't 100% human. Well there was more than one way to acquire the information he needed.

He stood up abruptly from the chair and in a threatening tone questioned her, "What do you know about the vampire Godric?"

The tone of his voice was lace in anger and she was beginning to fear for her life. Her eyes searched for the door.

Impatient, he arched down, his eyes boring down on her, and boomed, "Godric, what do you know?"

There was no chance of escape, his large frame was now completely shadowing her, "Nothing, I haven't a clue who you're talkin' about. Please, I know nothing!" Her eyes were wide as she kept his gaze, watching as he sat back down again, calming slightly.

"Do you know what connection you have to the vampires who saved you?" He asked, his tone much calmer now.

She rubbed her head, the dull permanent headache beginning to become more aggressive. "They told me that they're my relatives, I can't remember my family though so I'm not sure if that's true..."

Suddenly he gripped her shoulders and placed his nose at her neck. She froze in terror as he inhaled her scent.

He slowly let her go and fell back onto the bed beside her. Why Godric wanted to protect her, why the Irish vampires needed her to be kept safe. The moment he smelt the scent of her blood, he began forming theories. None made any sense. Her blood contained very little traces of the human blood that he fed on. The weak and tired woman beside him, who was eyeing him with blind fear had the blood of an ancient vampire. Not just any vampire either - his maker. He would recognise Godric's scent anywhere, but it wasn't until he was in such close proximity to her that he noticed it. Her blood was mixed though, another vampire, another ancient.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story, I have had quite a busy 2 months and just haven't had the time to concentrate. Thank you very much for taking the time to read x**_

**Chapter Four**

The doctor had visited her later that evening. Eric had stood in the hallway, watching silently as she was examined. Large purple welts covered her arms and legs and puncture wounds ran up and down her body. The wounds were of a sadistic nature, done not to hold her in place but to torture. He recalled what O'Lonegan had said about her memory loss and understood what he'd meant when he'd said that she would be better not to remember. He noted that she didn't squirm or cry out whilst she was being poked and prodded by the shocked doctor though he could see from the way her face crumpled slightly that she was in agony.

Her work done, the doctor left Orla's room motioning Eric to follow as she pasted him. "I don't know, nor do I want to know what's happened to her, but from what I see she's been patched up well. The injuries are a week or two old but I guess you already know that." she handed him two boxes of pills, "I've gave her a dose of these, valium for her nerves. With injuries of that type I assume she will have some type of post-traumatic stress, give her them if she gets too agitated. There's also some oxycontin for her pain." Eric couldn't understand why all this was necessary, if she was given vampire blood she would heal much quicker. Although he knew that Godric would have his reasons, he loathed the inconvenience that her presence caused.

Back inside the room, Orla, exhausted from her journey, slowly changed into a pair of grey shorts and a white t-shirt. What little clothing she owned had been given to her by Finn, he had sent one of his assistants to buy her a few essentials and being a man he had no clue about sizes. All the clothes fell loose and slack on her slender frame. It didn't bother her much though as she didn't plan on leaving the minimal room that was to be her new prison while she stayed in Louisiana.

She lay her head back on the soft pillow staring at the ceiling, repeating what had become a regular exercise. Closing her eyes she would try to remember, who she was, who her family were, what she did - _anything_ from before Finn's enemies had tried to kill her.

In her mind she took herself back to the places that she could remember, the streets around her hometown of Belfast. Everyday she would take the imaginary walk from the bus station that sat at the side of the Lagan river, past the courthouse and down Chichester Street towards the city hall. It was so familiar to her that in her mind's eye she could see the double decker white and red citybus driving slowly down the main street of the city and hear the din of shoppers hurrying about the footpaths. Gradually her body relaxed, the medication dulling her senses once more and she drifted into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

It was two days later when Orla finally emerged from her room and only because it was absolutely necessary - she was famished. The pills that had been placed on the table (by Eric she presumed) had kept her pain free and sedated but she couldn't ignore the hunger pains any longer. Her bruises had mostly healed with only a few yellowy blotches remaining round her wrists and forearms. Her bare feet made no noise as she carefully negotiated the wooden stairs. "Hello?" She called out half hoping that he wouldn't reply, "Mr Northman... Eric?" No answer. It was dark outside so from her limited knowledge of vampire's, she was sure he wouldn't be resting. As soon as she was halfway down the stairs, she could make out a small beam of light coming from the room to the left of the front door. Once she had reached the bottom she opened the door slowly. "Hello" she called again.

A small, attractive, scantily dressed woman was lying on a sofa with her neck extended while Eric was noisily sucking at it. As he whipped his head round to glare at her, his fangs visible she stared at the crimson liquid that was running down his chin. Squeezing her eyes shut she turned away and shouted "Sorry" as she hastily retreated from the room.

Of course she wasn't naive, vampires fed on human blood, it was just that she never thought that she would see such a thing so... _close up_. But, she told herself, it was his house, he could do as he pleased, who was she to be so prudish about what was clearly natural to him.

Not quite sure what the etiquette was in a situation like this she lingered at the foot of the stairs, silently cursing herself for not knocking.

Just when she was in the middle of reprimanding herself for being so stupid, the door opened. Eric came out first, wiping the blood from his mouth and was then followed by the petite blond who was fixing her underwear. Avoiding Eric's gaze, Orla smiled awkwardly at the woman as he quickly ushered her out the front door.

"I trust you aren't squeamish Miss Callaghan?" he said with a menacing grin.

She threw a smile back at him, then looked down at her bare feet, "Not at all".

"So what brings you out of your hibernation then?" He asked.

"Um.., it's just that, well, I'm a bit hungry", she replied.

"Well, I could always call Ginger back if you fancy a taste!" He retorted with a deep, throaty laugh.

She smiled genuinely, stifling a laugh and inwardly noted that he was much more pleasant than during their first encounter, perhaps he had been hungry then? "That'll not be necessary, but a pizza would hit the spot though!"

His nose crinkled in mock disgust, "Each to their own."


End file.
